The Effect of Universal Free School Meals on Child BMI

Will Davis (), Daniel Kreisman () and Tareena Musaddiq ()
Additional contact information
Will Davis: Mississippi State University
Daniel Kreisman: Georgia State University
Tareena Musaddiq: Mathematica Policy Research

No 16387, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We estimate the effect of universal free school meal access through the Community Eligibility Program (CEP) on child BMI. Through the CEP, schools with high percentages of students qualified for free or reduced-priced meals can offer free breakfast and lunch to all students. With administrative data from a large school district in Georgia, we use student-level BMI measures from the FitnessGram to compare within-student outcomes before and after CEP implementation across eligible and non-eligible schools. We find one year of CEP exposure increased expected BMI percentile by about 0.085 standard deviations, equivalent to a nearly 1.88-pound weight increase for a student of average height. We also find that the program led to a small increase in the likelihood of overweight and limited evidence of a small decrease in the likelihood of underweight. We do not find that the program increased student obesity risk. Examining the effects of CEP on child BMI by grade suggests that the overall effect is largely driven by students in middle schools, highlighting potential heterogeneity in the program's impact across grades. The findings of this paper are relevant for researchers and policymakers concerned with the effects of universal free school meals on student health.

Keywords: community eligibility provision; child BMI; school meals; free lunch (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 65 pages
Date: 2023-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in. Education Finance & Policy, 2024, 19 (3), 461 - 491

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